Ad sales moved from a 4% decline in the three months before Christmas to 2% growth in the first three months of the year.

Print ad sales were down 8% across the six-month period, better than the 12% decline seen in the previous 12 months.

MailOnline was up 19% on an underlying basis and is "making good progress on the path to profitability".

Retail, the single most important category, worth almost a quarter of ad revenue, cast a shadow over the performance of DMG Media as it worsened markedly between the first and second quarters of its current financial year.

Retail moved from an 11% decline in the three months before Christmas (Q1) to a 31% slump in the first three months of 2017 (Q2).

Overall, retail was down 19% for the six-month period.

Travel was the best-performer, with growth of 8% in the half-year.

Telecoms, entertainment and motors also showed signs of improvement over the period, after posting double-digit percentage declines before Christmas.